Consumers have utilized a number of cosmetic and personal care compositions to enhance and/or modify the appearance of keratin fibers, such as the hair. One popular modification is imparting an artificial color on the hair using a chemical dye. For example, the hair may be treated using a direct dye or an oxidative dye, which is also known as a “permanent” hair dye, to obtain a desired color. However, oxidative dyes can be harsh and damaging to the hair fibers.
Although imparting color to a keratinous substrate may be achieved by adhering color pigments to the hair, coloring compositions containing pigments are not resistant to transfer or removal, such as washing and/or shampooing of the hair. Typically, the compositions cannot retain pigment hair color beyond one shampooing or washing. In addition, pigments often lack compatibility with other cosmetic ingredients and tend to deposit competitively on hair substrates, causing other hair benefit agents to fail to deposit and bond with the substrates. Moreover, pigments are difficult to use in cosmetic applications that require detergents, conditioning agents, thickeners, silicones, solvents, inorganic and organic salts, humectants and other typical cosmetic ingredients. Furthermore, due to their insoluble nature, pigment-containing formulations are generally difficult to stabilize. Therefore, formulations containing pigments may lack several desirable consumer benefits.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for enhanced color retention and/or reduced color fading of hair artificially colored with compositions having pigments. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide compositions and methods for imparting enhanced color retention and reduced color fading to artificially colored hair.